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TNA: Bound for Glory, October 12, 2008
by Jillie

Ah, Thanksgiving weekend. Well, for those of us in Canada, anyway. My friends got married this weekend, so not only did I have a HUGE turkey dinner with 200 of my closest friends’ family members and co-workers, but I also had a great party. My calendar indicates that today is “recovery,” and that’s what I’m doing. What better way to recover than to sit back and enjoy a very hyped up pay per view event? I will be very thankful if this actually lives up to its hype.

I think it’s cool that Billy Corgan is a big wrestling fan, and it’s about time TNA used a “real” band for their PPV Theme, but I could really care less for Smashing Pumpkins. I loved the intro otherwise. The gangster thing was cool. For some reason I especially like seeing wrestlers dressed up in other costumes. I’ve always loved the WWE intros and commercials for that reason. This was kind of reminiscent of a WWE commercial (didn’t they do a gangster theme once, too?), but it was still cool.

Steel Asylum:
Alex Shelley vs Jay Lethal vs Curry Man vs Chris Sabin vs Sonjay Dutt (w/SoCal Val) vs Jimmy Rave (w/ Christy Hemme) vs Johnny Devine vs Petey Williams vs Shark Boy vs Super Eric

Winner gets an X Division Match
I LOVE the ref that is strapped to the ceiling. Safety first, you know… This is, naturally, going to be hard for me to follow, so I’ll give you the highlights.

Don West’s shirts make me angry.

JB is in Cornette’s office. That BFG poster is COOL. Mick Foley comes in. Cornette has to run, but JB will be Mick’s man-slave. The Beautiful People come in. They wanted blue M&Ms, and they throw the other colours at Mick. They insult Mick’s wardrobe. Angel throws more M&Ms, which leads to Mick saying the quote of the night: “She’s throwing the blue ones! Seems counter-productive to me…”

6 Person Bimbo Brawl
Special Referee: Traci Brooks
The Beautiful People and Cute Kip vs Rhino, ODB and Rhaka Khan

Rhaka Khan is from the Isle of Man!? ODB and Love start off. ODB is in control until Love blocks a fall away slam. Skye is tagged in and she tries to pie-face Rhino. ODB gets control back and tags in Rhino. Rhino hip tosses Skye and goes for the Gore. Kip makes the save. Rhino chases Kip around the ring only to find himself back in the ring with Skye. Skye tries for a clothesline. Rhino goes on the offence against her once again only to have Rhaka tag herself in. Kip is also tagged in. Kip and Khan go for chokeslams. Khan gets the advantage with a crotch claw. Love is tagged in. Khan misses a spin kick but powers Love into her corner. ODB tags herself in and levels Love with a back breaker. Kip interferes with a make-up box to ODB’s head. Love goes for the pin for a two count. Love distracts Traci while her team double teams ODB. Love slaps on a choke hold and ODB fights to her feet and fights Love off. Backdrop suplex to Love. ODB starts spanking herself for momentum before tagging in Rhino. Kip is also tagged in. Rhino is in control and his pin is interrupted by the girls. Rhino’s team mates take out the Beautiful People, but Kip is now in control. Kip goes for the Fame-Asser, but is surprised instead with a Gore. Rhino gets the three count and the win for his team.

I was a little disappointed with this match, but not so much so to not be entertained. There should have been more girl vs boy action, especially with the two larger women in Rhino’s corner. Rhaka Khan did not get much of an opportunity to show off her wrestling moves (unless she actually doesn’t have any…) and that was unfortunate. However, the match was full of intrigue and interference to make up for the lack of legal action in the ring.

Lauren is with Consequences Creed. Creed has been here for a whole year!? Wow, he has done nothing of note since then. I’m not a fan of this pro-American vs anti-American crap. I’m sure the match will be entertaining though, and Creed’s promo was solid.

X Division Championship Match
Champion Sheik Abdul Bashir vs Concequences Creed

Interestingly, Bashir is introduced first. Not usual, being that he’s the Champion, but it makes sense because introduced next is a local injured war veteran coming to the ring to do Creed’s introduction. Going with the pro-American vs the anti-American theme, this is a nice touch, and probably a great moment for the guy. I guess I’ll save my thoughts on this theme for another discussion because it will be too long for this recap. Go check out the discussion board. I’ll post my opinion there (there you go, eVe…cheap plug; now where are those Oreos you promised me!?). Creed gets in the cheap shot to start, but man was it ever cool, flipping into the ring through the ropes. Creed follows up with a high-risk dive to the outside. Creed goes to the top with a cross-body for the near-fall. Bashir takes control for a minute before Creed levels him with a “Basement Clothesline,” according to Tenay. Creed has the solid advantage, but Bashir knocks him to the outside, right in front of Santa Clause. Bashir gets a near fall after rolling Creed back into the ring. Bashir tries for the cover once again, trying to wear Creed down. Creed is pumped up with a USA chant, but can’t seem to get the upper hand. Bashir gets a series of near falls and tries to wear Creed down with trips, avoidance and submissions. Creed gets a surprise roll up but can’t make the three count. This just angers Bashir, who continues putting on the pressure. This is going to turn out to be a typical under-dog match, isn’t it? Creed is going to make the surprise comeback right at the end of the match for the win, isn’t he? Right now, he’s in a sleeper hold, and, of course, doesn’t drop his arm the third time. Creed catches Bashir in the gut with a kick and both men are down. Bashir tries to assume his advantage, but Creed won’t allow it. He hits Bashir with a back body drop for a near fall after a string of offense. Creed hits a press slam into his own knees and Bashir manages to kick out, but that move looked amazing. Creed hits Bashir with a spinning kick and goes for the top turnbuckle. Bashir spoils his plans and counters with a hurricanrana for yet another near fall. Bashir gets a surprise roll up and uses the ropes for the win.

Alright, so I was wrong. Creed wasn’t the come-back kid. This match was GREAT. Great action, some wicked moves, especially from Creed, and great tension between the two opponents. This is certainly not over yet, and I’m looking forward to Bashir vs Creed, round 2.

JB and Mick Foley are hanging out in Cornette’s office when Kong and Saeed barge in. Saeed basically says Kong is going to kick ass. Foley calls a clown…?

TNA Knockout Championship
Champion Taylor Wilde vs Awesome Kong vs Roxxi

I enjoy Roxxi’s new character, which seems less of a character and more like herself to me. Still, I like it a lot better than her former character. This looks to be a great match. Roxxi and Wilde seem to want to work together. They get Kong out of the ring so they can focus on each other. It’s a back and forth battle but Kong comes back in just in time to save Roxxi from the cover. Kong is now in control, but Wilde gets a surprise roll up. Roxxi interrupts the pin and sends Wilde outside. Kong takes control of the match against Roxxi but Roxxi doesn’t take it lying down. Roxxi hits a neck breaker and a backsplash. She goes up and lands on Kong. Wilde breaks up the pin. Roxxi has Wilde in a submission, but Kong kicks the two women to the ground. Roxxi hits a jawbreaker on Kong only to be hit with a crossbody by Kong. Roxxi kicks out of the pin. Kong hits an Implant Buster for the pin, but Wilde breaks it up. Kong goes to the top rope (!!) but Wilde chases her up. She kicks Kong to the outside. Roxxi catches Wilde with a boot for the near fall. Roxxi misses a Cajun Drop. Wilde hits Roxxi with a Bridging Suplex for the win.

I really wanted to see Kong come off the turnbuckle!! And so much for “Hardcore Roxxi,” eh? This match wasn’t a good as I had envisioned, but still full of great action and still entertaining.

JB, Mick and AJ are in Cornette’s office. AJ’s glad that Mick’s here. Mick’s on AJ’s side. 3D thinks AJ is a “ma’k.” Mick has to break up the inevitable fight. Mick sends AJ away, and accuses Ray of stealing his wardrobe. 3D is great, according to themselves. 3D goes away and Cornette comes back. Mick leaves the office, mentioning the Sock (the dirty pant-sock! That’s what my non-wrestling fan roommate used to call it! The dirty-sweaty-man-panty-sock was the full name, actually. Ah, good times).

TNA Tag Team Championship Match
Monster’s Ball
Special Referee: Steve “Mongo” McMichael

Champions Beer Money Inc (who STILL need their own entrance music…) vs Abyss (who donates some of his hair to a fan…) and Matt Morgan vs 3D vs LAX
Once again, this match is going to be hard to follow, so I’ll just give you the gory highlights. The match starts with everyone beating up on Beer Money before breaking off into pairs; Ray and Morgan on the outside, Abyss and Devon on the outside, LAX and Beer Money on the inside. Roode has the upper hand on Hernandez until Hernandez’ power comes into play. Homicide takes down Beer Money on the outside, followed by Hernandez.

This match was actually really good. I’m generally not a fan of hardcore matches like this, but I found that it was more a wrestling match with weapons instead of a weapons match with wresting. I love that Abyss didn’t pick up a weapon once. I also love that Beer Money, the two wrestlers that bled the least, won. There were some great spots, and the match was exciting in general. I’m predicting now that it will be 3D vs Beer Money in a Tables match for the next PPV.

Booker T REALLY needs to drop the silly accent. It makes me angry.

Booker T vs Christian Cage vs AJ Styles
Hey, the ref is that ref that’s been beating people up! I wonder if that’s going to play a part in this match… Booker and AJ start off while Cage goes to the outside. AJ gets distracted and Booker has the advantage. Booker and Cage go eye to eye, with a temporary truce, broken by a back-stabbing Cage. AJ interrupts the pin for his own near fall. Cage also gets a near fall on AJ with a backslide. AJ misses a springboard thanks to Cage. AJ is on the outside recovering while Booker and Cage go at it. Booker drives Cage to the outside and AJ gets back in. AJ hits a springboard moonsault this time; only he hits Cage on the outside instead of Booker on the inside. Booker chases AJ to the outside and they square off in front of the announce booth. AJ throws the ref out of the way for interfering and Booker hits him with the briefcase. Booker gets Cage back into the ring. The two go back and forth with lefts, rights, high risks and reversals. Booker gets a near fall and takes the momentum for a second near fall. He tries to wear down Cage with a submission move but Cage recovers and tries for the upper hand. He is levelled with a kick by Booker for another near fall. Cage tries for a surprise roll up for a near fall. Booker is back in charge, but Cage doesn’t make it easy for him. A double clothesline sends both men to the mat as AJ is on his feet on the apron. AJ leaps for Cage, but get Booker instead. AJ takes it to both his opponents. Booker catches AJ with a knee to the gut. Booker tries bouncing off the ropes but AJ dodges him every time. Cage gets in the middle of things and AJ uses Cage, flipping over him, to get out of the way. Cage clotheslines Booker to the outside, only to turn around and meet a drop kick from AJ. Cage fights off a Syles Clash, and AJ reverses an Unprettier. Cage reverses an inverted DDT. AJ knocks Booker down and hits a second inverted DDT on Cage for a near fall. AJ and Cage are going back and forth and are levelled by clotheslines by Booker T. Booker focuses on AJ. AJ takes the advantage with an armbar. Cage tries to interfere but is kicked in the head by AJ. AJ gets Cage down with a head scissors. AJ is hit with a Book End for his trouble. Booker makes the near fall. Sharmelle needs to shut the Hell up. After doing a Spinnerooni, Booker is met with a flying forearm from Cage. Cage mocks Booker and while he goes down for a Spinnerooni of his own, AJ launches off Cage’s knee and nails Booker. Cage flips AJ over, and AJ hits Booker with a Pele. Cage hits a DDT on AJ for a near fall. Cage goes for a superplex on AJ, but Booker tries to get involved. AJ fights him off, gets Cage to the mat, and goes for, but misses, a Spiral Tap. Booker double Axe Kicks his opponents. He gets a near fall on AJ first, then trying his luck with Cage, to no avail. Booker goes to the top, but Cage whips AJ into the corner to knock Booker off. Cage tackles AJ for the cover. Booker, still sitting on the top rope, grabs the ref’s shirt and prevents him from making a timely count, resulting in yet another near fall. Cage catapults AJ into the corner, and AJ jumps up to attack Booker. Cage joins him on the second rope. All three men have it out on the second rope. Cage hits the Unprettier from the second rope on AJ. Booker hits the Axe Kick on Cage from the ropes. Booker T makes the cover on Cage for the win.

What a match! That was great! Lots of action! Lots of great spots! Lots of unique situations! The ref didn’t really get involved, and half way through the match it looked like AJ and Christian might be secretly working together (with AJ flipping over Cage and using Cage’s knee as leverage). The match turned out great, and I’m really looking forward to seeing if this briefcase comes into play now (surprisingly, because I usually hate Booker and all that involves him).

Lauren is with Kurt Angle. This is not a one-on-one match, because of Mick Foley’s involvement and Angle. JB is with Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett is emotional. He’s wrestling for his daughters.

Kurt Angle vs Jeff Jarrett
Special Guest Enforcer: Mick Foley

Angle fingers Foley before the bell even rings. Classy. Angle starts off with a series of grappling takedowns, clearly with the advantage. Jarrett finally gets the upper hand with a hip toss and a head lock of his own and gives Angle a taste of his own medicine. Angle takes Jarrett down with a back drop but Jarrett won’t let go of his hold. Jarrett hits a drop kick and clotheslines Angle to the floor. Jarrett slingshots over the top to the outside. Jarrett goes to the apron to jump on Angle, but Angle dodges him and Jarrett hits the barricade. The two get back in the ring and Angle has the upper hand until he’s hit with an inverted atomic drop and an enziguri. Jarrett does the strut and immediately gets clotheslined to the canvas. Angle covers for a two count and immediately tries again, once again for a two. Angle has Jarrett in a side headlock. Jarrett gets to his feet and powers out of the hold. Angle whips Jarrett to the ropes and Jarrett reverses with a roll up for two. Angle gets a clothesline for another near fall. After two more near falls, Angle gets Jarrett locked up in another headlock. Jarrett once again gets to his feet and once again powers out. He takes it to Angle but Angle gets the upper hand again with a cheap shot. He goes for a spear in the corner, but Jarrett moves and Angle smacks the post. Jarrett follows up with a DDT. Both men are down. The two men go back and forth with rights and lefts, a knee and some clotheslines. Jarrett slams Angle for yet another near fall. Angle hits Jarrett with a belly to belly release suplex, once again for a two count. Angle sets Jarrett up for an Angle Slam which Jarrett reverses into a DDT for, you guessed it, a near fall. Jarrett puts Angle on the top rope for a superplex set up. Despite his struggles, Angle finally succumbs to the move. Jarrett covers but doesn’t get three. Jarrett goes for the Figure Four. Angle struggles, trying not to get counted, trying to get to the ropes, and screaming like a baby. Finally, Angle gets to the ropes. Jarrett is caught with a German Suplex, holding on for a pin attempt. When he doesn’t get the pin, he fires off two more German Suplexes and still can’t get the pin. The straps come down (how do their suits stay up when the straps are down like that!?) and Angle attempts an Angle Slam, but Jarrett reverses it. Jarrett’s piledriver attempt is countered but Jarrett recounters, only to find himself in an Ankle Lock. Jarrett almost gets the rope a couple of times, only to be pulled to the middle again. Jarrett manages to roll Angle over. The Angle Slam goes through this time, but there is yet only a two count on the cover. Angle goes to the top rope but misses a Moonsault. Jarrett’s getting to his feet now, thanks to help from the crowd. Angle charges, but knocks out the ref. Jarrett attacks with some knees and The Stroke. With the ref out, Foley gets in for the count, but, alas, there is only two. Angle hits Jarrett with the low blow while Foley tries to revive the ref. Angle goes for a chair and Foley stops him. For his trouble, Angle smokes Mick with a chair. Next up; Jarrett. Angle revives the ref, goes for the cover, and Mick drags the ref out, interrupting the count. Foley is pissed. Foley takes it to Angle with a right hand and a dirty pant-sock (oh, how I missed the dirty pant-sock!). Jarrett takes advantage with a well-placed guitar shot and Foley makes the count for the win!

I found the momentum of this match was slow to start, but things definitely improved. The tension was great. The suspense was fabulous. The ending was superb. All in all it was a great, exciting match that lived up to its hype. And it honestly made me forget all about the main event! I thought that WAS the main event! My goodness! How exciting! More wrestling!

TNA World Championship Match
Champion Samoa Joe vs Sting

Question: what came first? The Crow or Black and White Sting? Just curious. (Editor's note: sigh... the Crow by almost 10 years. Or the Crow movie by 3 years)

Question 2: Has Joe slimmed down a tad, or are those trunks just slimming?

The men start the match on fire. Sting, after head butting the camera, is hit with a suicide dive on the outside, in front of the mascot from Lucky Charms and his Banana friend. Joe is in charge on the outside, sending Sting over the barricade and following himself. Joe takes the fight to the people, beating up Sting along the way. Sting takes back control, sending Joe over another barricade and up a flight of stairs. Joe gets the advantage with a head butt. Joe keeps dragging Sting further up the stairs (what a great crowd they have there!) Joe climbs up to the top of the stairs and drop kicks Sting several stops below, nearly canning himself on the railing. Joe and Sting are on their way back down, with Joe in charge. Sting fights back and drags him into a row of fans. Sting gets up on a barricade and cross body drops Joe into a row of chairs. Sting is now dragging Joe around amongst the fans and Sting is back on the barricade. Joe knocks him down and crotches him. Joe backs up and hits a running boot, knocking Sting to the ground. More dragging through the fans leads to the ringside area (while the ref nearly gets mobbed by the fans) and finally back into the ring. Joe gets a spinning kick into the chest of Sting and sets him on the top rope. Sting reverses it with a DDT, then goes to the top with a Frog Splash. Joe gets a kick to the gut, a powerbomb and a near fall. Joe slaps on an STF, which throughout Sting’s troubles, turns into something else. Sting finally finds the rope with his foot. Sting tries to fight back and Joe nails him with a snap slam. Joe misses a move in the corner and is hit with a Stinger Splash. Sting actually hits a Muscle Buster on Joe, which doesn’t keep Joe down in the least. Joe slaps and chops at Sting, and gets him with a Scorpion Death Drop. Sting gets straight to his feet and takes the advantage with a couple of Stinger Splashes. Joe catches a third Splash and powers Sting down, erasing the last of Sting’s make up. Joe mocks Sting while the ref counts, but Sting gets to his feet. Joe is relentless with his attacks, interrupting Hebner’s counts. Joe grabs the ref’s shirt and the crowd suddenly gets very happy. Down comes Kevin Nash! Well, I wasn’t expecting THAT! Joe argues with the ref, and then resumes his attack, hitting Sting with a DDT. Sting swears audibly. As Joe continues arguing with the ref, Sting grabs his bat. Kevin Nash, however, rips it away. Joe catches Sting with a clothesline and goes for the cover, getting two. Joe bounces off the ropes but is caught in the back with the bat! What!? I’m so confused! Sting gets the Scorpion Death Drop and the cover for the win! Nash leaves with the bat!

Sting just won the title!? Arg! Not what I expected! What a freaking interesting match! The first part was great…for the people there. Not very exciting for us sitting here watching at home. The match got much better though and VERY intriguing.

Wow! What a great PPV! I think every last match was exciting! Even if the participants didn’t put on the best wrestling match, each match had its own little surprises and I think TNA did a good job of making this a very interesting show by covering up the weaknesses of some of the matches with excitement and intrigue. Take the Bimbo Brawl, for instance. It was a disappointing match wrestling wise, but it was hella entertaining because of the interference, the humour, and the fast pace. The Monster’s Ball, which could have easily become a Who-can-bleed-the-most Contest, was a great wrestling match with some well placed and relevant weapon shots. Even the Steel Asylum, which I was disappointed with in its former incarnation as the Terror Dome, was MUCH better this time around. I can’t even remember the last time I marked out as much as I have during the PPV.

And, above all, this Pay Per View more than anything made me want to tune in on Thursday night’s Impact to find out what is going to happen next! That is, of course, the ultimate job of each and every show, right?

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! To all the Canadians reading this, Happy Thanksgiving, and remember to vote tomorrow, damnit!

Until next time;
Jillie

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